George of the Jungle 2
George of the Jungle 2 is the 2003 direct-to-video sequel of the 1997 film George of the Jungle. It was directed by David Grossman, written by Jordan Moffet, and stars Thomas Haden Church, Julie Benz and Christopher Showerman as "George". The movie focuses on George trying to save Ape Mountain from his evil arch-nemesis Lyle (Thomas Haden Church). It received a PG rating from the MPAA for crude humor and innuendo. Unfortunately, the sequel received less praise than the original film. Plot Five years after socialite Ursula Stanhope left civilization to marry George of the Jungle, George finds himself hard-pressed to fulfil the roles of jungle king, father, and husband. George's stress level increases when the "Mean Lion" challenges him for leadership of the jungle, and when Ursula's mother Beatrice teams up with Ursula's ex-fiancée Lyle in a plot to forcibly take away all that George holds most dear. To do this, Beatrice invites Ursula, George, and George Junior to visit Las Vegas, which they accept. Throughout the visit, Beatrice and some of Ursula's fellow socialites try constantly to convince Ursula that George is unworthy of her affection; however, Ursula's single-minded hero-worship or attachment remains intact and seems indeed to harden under threat. George, observing the threats but not his wife's responses, begins to think himself unworthy of Ursula. During the same time, George's mentor Ape has become a gambler and is in debt to several creditors, including Lyle. Lyle, having learned that Ape does not possess the exploitation rights of Ape Mountain, he and his new minions Sally and Kowalski break into Georges room. They steal the deed which is in Georges underwear after almost giving up hope. He thereafter sends agents to the Ape Mountain, where they begin to demolish the jungle. The animals, terrified, turn to the Lion for guardianship. Having failed to convince Ursula to divorce George, Beatrice hires a master of hypnosis to suppress Ursula's memory of having known George. The hypnotist suppresses the memory, replacing it with the idea that Ursula has married Lyle. George, upon learning of this, leaves his luck-charm with Ursula as she sleeps, then departs. George, Ape and Rocky make way for the Jungle, but they find Lyle has sent Sally and Kowalski to capture them, a chase happens but George, Ape and Rocky escape. Their departure triggers much commotion when the police force and the Animal Control Agency join forces to recapture them. In San Francisco, Lyle attempts to persuade Ursula that he is worthy of her affection by imitating George. He fails in this, and does not even attempt to assume a parental role toward George Junior. Ursula's memory, meanwhile, is given minor stimulations by events similar to those in which George had played a major part. Later, George then tries to reconnect with Ursula and George Jr. before leaving to rescue the jungle. He gains Ursula's interest, but has trouble convincing her that he is her husband. Knocking her unconscious, George continues his journey back home with her, Ape, George Jr., and Rocky the kangaroo. In the jungle, George overthrows the Mean Lion and tries to convince the other animals to join him in stopping the diggers, but fails in gaining their lost trust in him until the diggers become an immediate threat. Anyway, George multi-handedly defeats all the bulldozers with the help of George Junior, Ape, Shep, Rocky and Tookie Bird. Lyle's agents Sally and Kowalski then come to destroy the tree house. However, after George tries reasoning with them, they bully him and eventually Kowalski kicks him off. They find they have been tricked though when Rocky kicks them in the jaw sending them flying and screaming across the Jungle. Once they get up Rocky jumps on their shoulders and smacks them into the ground unable to escape. George is unable, however, to defeat the digging machine until his son literally swings into the fray to support his father. Lyle and Beatrice arrive to pick up Ursula and George Junior. George manages to defeat both of them by hanging Lyle in a tree and Beatrice is kissed by Ape. Lyle is angered by his defeat and insults the narrator, who replies by pulling him from the story's world. George kisses Ursula, restoring her full memory of him. They are subsequently re-married, and George learns to find balance among his duties. Cast Voice Cast Trivia *The movie makes a reference to a scene from the first movie. When George, Ursula, and the others are in the crate headed for home, the narrator references a similar scene from the first film. He says George took a tip from Brendan Fraser and got a big crate. This references the first film where George arrives in Africa in a much too small box and exclaims, "Next time George get bigger box." *There are also several references to the fact that Brendan Fraser no longer plays George. It is claimed that "the studio was too cheap to hire Brendan Fraser", but the narrator assures the audience that "the new George can take a tree as well as Brendan Fraser". *The film was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada and Queensland, Australia. *Because the film did not include Brendan Fraser, the first film's star, several references are made to him in the comedic dialogue between the characters and narrator; George himself tells the narrator that he is played by Showerman because the studio was "too cheap to pay Brendan Fraser". Later references attempt to compare the two actors' portrayal of George, often at Fraser's expense. In fact, it was Fraser who declined to reprise his role of George due to already having a commitment in 2003 to take the male lead role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, rather than demands from the actor for more compensation to reprise the role. *Like its predecessor, the second film has funny moments, slapstick comedy and breaking the fourth wall. *The 1990 Walt Disney Pictures logo has been customized for this film; as the logo nearly finishes its fanfare, a silhouette of George crashes onto the castle as he vine-swings, and the castle literally falls apart like a cardboard stand. External links * * Category:Disney films Category:2003 films Category:Live-action films Category:Direct-to-video films Category:Sequel films Category:George of the Jungle Category:Films based on television shows Category:Films Category:PG-rated films Category:PG-rated direct-to-video films